Too Different
by live-in-dreamland1
Summary: Troy and Gabriella don't associate with each other at school but it's different when they are at home, no needing to impress friends. They can just be themselves. They can be friends. Based off Taylor Swift's new music video You Belong With Me. Troyella!
1. Chapter 1

_So I got this idea from Taylor Swift's new music video "You Belong With Me". Awesome video as well. All of her video's are awesome. Anyway... I got this idea while watching it and thought I would try and write it. I hope you like it. It turned out a lot longer than i planned so i decided to make it a two chapter thing. Enjoy_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing  
_

**Too Different**

Troy sighed as he walked through the front door of his house. His mum was going to be working late and his dad was coaching the younger basketball teams, leaving Troy with the house to himself. Troy had to admit that he was happy to be able to escape the dramas of school and being the basketball captain. As much as he loved to play basketball, there were other things in life that were important as well. His friends just didn't seem to realise that. Then there was his girlfriend Sharpay. He loved her... or at least he thought he loved her. Troy began to notice some of the smaller things about Sharpay. Things like how the conversation always seemed to involve her, how she acted around people that weren't popular and how she never let him do anything on his own. She always had to tag along. Troy dropped his bag by the stairs and walked into the kitchen. There was a not from his mum on the counter.

_Troy, Your father and I have been invited to dinner with some old friends tonight. There is money to next to the stove for dinner. We will be back late. Love mom._

"Terrific" Troy said to himself as he helped himself to an apple from the fridge. As Troy started to make his way up to his room, he heard people talking outside. Not being able to help himself, he walked over to the window and looked out. Gabriella Montez, a fellow student at East High that Troy didn't usually speak to her at school as they were in two different cliques, was sitting on her front lawn and delicately picking at the strings of her guitar. Her hair was pulled up into a lose bun and some curls were hanging around her face. Her glasses were sitting on her nose and would sometimes catch in the sunlight. She seemed to have such a stress free life, not having to live up to the image the school thought you to be. As he continued to watch her, he could faintly see her lips moving, most liking singing along to the song she was playing. Troy didn't like to admit but he knew more about Gabriella Montez than anyone else in the school, mostly the basketball and cheerleading cliques. He knew that Gabriella had transferred to East High 6 months ago and was part of the scholastic decathlon team and school choir. She had two friends, Taylor and Kelsi. Troy also knew that Gabriella was a lifeguard on the weekends and taught a young group of kids how to swim.

Troy wasn't sure how long he had been watching Gabriella but he knew it had been a while as Gabriella was now standing up and walking into her house. Just as she was about to walk in the door, she stopped and looked in Troy's direction. Troy quickly moved to hide behind the blinds but opened them up a little to peak out. Gabriella looked in his direction for a few more seconds before she walked into her house. Troy sighed as he moved away from the window. This wasn't the first time that he had watched Gabriella play on her front lawn. Most nights the two would talk to each other from their windows as their bedrooms faced each other and there wasn't that big of a gap between the houses. They sort of became secret friends while outside of school and neither minded it.

Troy looked around his living room and stopped when he saw some college brochures on the coffee table. He cringed when he saw that his mom had been looking through them and would now know that he wanted to be a primary school teacher, not a basketball player for the rest of his life.

"Great. Let's hope she won't tell dad about this" Troy muttered as he went to order a pizza for dinner. Troy found the phone and ordered a small pizza. As soon as he put the phone back on the counter, it rang, causing Troy to jump.

"Hello?"

"Troy" Chad's voice came through. "What's up man?" Troy inwardly sighed. He couldn't escape these guys for even one night.

"Just sitting at home, waiting on a pizza. Where are you?"

"Here and there. Mind if I come over for a bit?"

"Sure. I could use some company" Troy replied.

"Awesome. See you in a bit" Chad said before he hung up the phone. Troy smiled and shook his head. He glanced at the clock before making his way upstairs to his room. Troy secretly hoped that Gabriella would be up in her room so that he would have a chance to talk with her before Chad came over. Recently Troy had found himself looking forward to talking with Gabriella at night and found himself thinking about her more than he should. Troy opened the door to his room and walked in. For once his room actually looked clean. As Troy made his way further into his room, he glanced towards his window. He smiled when he saw Gabriella walk into her room and immediately walk over to the radio, starting to bop her head to the music. She didn't seem to notice that Troy was watching her. Troy could hear the music coming through the speakers. A song that he had come to know, thanks to Gabriella, was playing; _You Belong with Me _by Taylor Swift. Troy was startled when Gabriella began to dance what looked like a fully choreographed dance. Troy watched in awe as Gabriella did a contemporary piece around her room, never once knowing that Troy was watching her. The sound of the doorbell ringing was enough to make Troy turn away and walk out of his room, as much as he wanted to stay.

Troy opened the door to reveal the Chad and a small person who was wearing a hat that was covering her face delivering the pizza.

"Hi?" Troy asked as he looked from one person to the other. Chad just shrugged his shoulders and stepped inside. Troy just shook his head as he gave the girl the money.

"Thank you" he said. The girl just nodded her head before handing over the pizza and walking away.

"Hurry up Troy" Chad called from the living room.

"I'm coming!" Troy replied. He entered the living room to see that Chad had made himself comfortable already.

"Took your time" Chad mumbled

"I had to pay for the pizza Chad" Troy said, as if he was talking to a pre-schooler.

"Whatever" Chad said as he turned his attention to the game on TV.

XXXXX

A couple of hours later Chad left and Troy honestly couldn't be happier. He just wanted a night of rest. Troy stood up and took the pizza box into the kitchen to put into the bin. A buzz from his pocket told him that he had a text. Troy pulled out his phone and read the message.

_You doing anything right now? Gabby_

Troy couldn't help but smile when he saw who it was from. He quickly replied.

_Be there in a sec_

**--Different—Different-- Different—Different-- Different—Different-- Different—Different—****Different—Different—Different--Different--  
**

_Be there in a sec_

Gabriella closed her phone after she read the text message. She was currently in her room working on a new song, guitar lying across her lap and her fingers softly strumming the strings. Every now again Gabriella would lean over and scribble something down on her notepad before straightening up and returning to strumming the guitar. A tap on the window caused Gabriella to look up and smile as she saw Troy sitting in his window sill and throwing rocks at her. She placed the guitar on the ground and walked over to the window.

"Hey" Gabriella greeted once she had opened her window.

"Hey yourself" Troy replied with a smile on his face.

"Have fun with Chad today?" Gabriella asked once she was comfortable. Troy shrugged.

"To be honest, I was kind of hoping to escape the drama's of school for one night" Gabriella looked at him sympathetically. One of reasons that the two of them had started talking was because Troy been frustrated about his future and had thrown a college brochure through the window and into Gabriella's window. When Gabriella returned it, the two had started talking and found that they really understood each other so they continued to do it. It became a mutual decision to keep their friendship secret as they knew it wouldn't be allowed at school and both were okay with that as they had something to look forward to at the end of the day.

"Well at least you have escaped it now"

"True. Were you writing a new song just before?" Troy questioned. He was greatly impressed about Gabriella's song writing skills and was always curious to see if she had written any more. Gabriella blushed and nodded. "Can I hear it?" Troy pushed. Gabriella looked at him before smiling and nodding. She disappeared into her room and came back with her guitar and notebook. Gabriella looked at her notebook before she started to pick at the right chords.

**Insert My Immortal Lyrics Here**

"That's it" Gabriella said once she had finished the song. Troy looked at her in awe.

"I can't get over that voice you have" Troy commented. He laughed when Gabriella blushed.

"I'm not that good"

"Would you please stop doubting yourself? You have an amazing voice"

"How about we change the topic?" Gabriella mumbled as she positioned herself comfortably on the window sill. Troy smiled and changed the topic for Gabriella's benefit. The two continued to talk until it was about 12:30 in the morning. The topic of the dance came up.

"Are you going to the dance next week?"

"I don't think so. Dances are really for the school outcasts"

"You're not a school outcast" Troy said softly.

"You're only saying that to make me feel better"

"I want you to come though" Gabriella sighed.

"Troy, you're with Sharpay and what would everyone think if they saw us talking at school?" Troy scratched the back of his neck.

"About that... I'm not so sure about dating Sharpay anymore"

"Why not?" Gabriella asked, genuinely interested, and not just because she happened to have a very big crush on Troy. Troy shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I guess I've started to notice some of the smaller things about her, such as the fact that every conversation has to revolve around her and she is very threatened by every girl that talks to me" Gabriella laughed.

"I've seen how easily she can become jealous"

"I know, and when she is jealous she can become pretty mean"

"That's what you get when you date a stereotypical head cheerleader" Gabriella teased. Troy laughed but stopped when he glanced at the clock.

"I think we should turn in now" he said softly. Gabriella nodded as she stood up.

"Night Troy"

"Night Gabby" Troy replied as he stood up and disappeared into his room.

"Love you" Gabriella whispered to herself before closing her window.

**XXXXX One Week Later – Night of the Dance**

Gabriella opened the door to her house and quickly made her way up to her room. She was frustrated with herself about how much she thought about Troy. When Troy had finally worked up the courage to break up with Sharpay earlier in the week, Gabriella couldn't be happier. Even when Sharpay had accused Troy of cheating on her, Gabriella still couldn't be happier that he was finally free from her. Of course there was no way that she was going to tell Troy that. He would never talk to her again if he found out that the brainiac was now totally and completely in love with him. As Gabriella entered her room, her spirits deflated when she saw the dress that had been bought for the dance tonight. Gabriella couldn't go to the dance. What was a scholastic decathlon member going to do at a dance? Guys usually avoided asking girls like Gabriella. What made it worse was the fact that even though Taylor was also on the decathlon team, she was also on the hockey team which made her popular with the jocks as well, so she had no problem grabbing a date. Kelsi even had someone from the drama department ask her.

"Probably wouldn't even be that fun" Gabriella mumbled to herself. She tore her eyes away from the dress and began to start on her homework.

A few hours later, a knock on her window interrupted her. Gabriella looked up to see Troy standing there, all dressed up in a black suit. As Gabriella stood up, she forced a smile into her face.

"You look very nice" Gabriella commented once she had opened her window.

"Thank you" Troy said as he did a little spin for her. He stopped once he saw what Gabriella was wearing. "You're not coming to the dance" he said as more of a statement. Gabriella shrugged and gave him a weak smile.

"Dances aren't really my thing" Gabriella said, hoping that Troy would buy it. He just raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Then how come last week I saw you dancing a very choreographed dance in your room last week?" Troy smirked when he saw Gabriella blush.

"Oh...ummm" Gabriella stuttered, at a loss of words.

"So I think it's safe to say that you love dancing. Now what is the real reason you won't come?" Troy pressed. He was hoping that Gabriella would come. Gabriella sighed and fixed her glasses. Troy couldn't help but wonder what she would look like without them on. He had seen a glimpse of her when she would be at the pool but other than that, he had never really 'seen' her without her glasses.

"I don't fit in at school Troy. Taylor and Kelsi have their own groups outside of me and I don't really know anyone outside of the scholastic decathlon team and they all try to avoid dances to stay home and study or something"

"So you're just looking for something to do that will keep you busy tonight so that you won't have an excuse to go to the dance" Troy said. Gabriella nodded while she wrapped her arms around herself, knowing how beautiful all the girls were going to look tonight. There was no way that Gabriella could even come close to matching them.

"That's about right" Gabriella said. Troy smiled.

"That's too bad. I wished you would have come" Troy said as he stood up and straightened his tie. Gabriella gave another weak smile that Troy saw right through.

"You go and have fun. You won't even notice that I'm not there" Gabriella said softly. Troy nodded before saying good bye and walking away. Gabriella sighed and let a tear roll down her cheek once Troy had disappeared from sight. The sound of the door opening caused Gabriella look up to see her mother enter her room. She quickly wiped the tear away before putting on a smile for her mum.

"Hey mum" Gabriella said as cheerfully as she could. Her mother just stood there with a hand on her hip. Neither noticed that Troy had come back into his room to grab something and was now watching the two.

"Why aren't you going to the dance? I thought you wanted to go with Troy"

"I said I wished I could go with Troy. That doesn't mean that it is actually going to happen"

"Does he know that?" Gabriella shook her head.

"We live in totally different groups at school mom. It's pretty much forbidden for a nerd to even smile at anyone who is on the basketball team or part of the popular group"

"So what's different about all those nights you two have stayed up talking?"

"It's different outside of school. At first I clung onto the fact that he was the first guy to pay any attention my way and talk to me and now, knowing that I have someone like Troy to turn to without all the baggage from school, it's something I treasure the most"

"It must be pretty special. I've never seen you so willing to sing in front of anyone, and especially one of your songs as well"

"Troy is special mom" Gabriella said as she sat down on her bed. Maria Montez made her way over to Gabriella, stopping for a second when she saw Troy standing by his window with a curious face. He signaled to Maria to not tell Gabriella that he was still there.

"I can't stop thinking about him mom" Gabriella said as she lay down and covered her face with her hands. Maria smiled and looked over at Troy once again. He had a surprised look on his face. Maria just smiled and nodded to him. Troy smiled back before he rushed out of his room to get to the dance.

"Maybe he's supposed to be stuck on your mind then" Gabriella uncovered her face to look at her mom. Maria just smiled.

"What do I do then?"

"I would suggest that for a start, you go to this dance and you let people see the real you, not what you have to be at school" Gabriella smiled before looking at the dress that was hanging on her door.

"Will you help me get ready?" Gabriella asked, turning back to her mom. Maria just smiled and nodded and the two set to work.

**XXX**

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**

_So that is that. The next chapter will be the dance but that's only if people like this. Please review! :)  
_

_Goodnight! _

_xx  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**Well this is the second and final chapter of this story. I don't think i wrote parts of it very well but that is up to you to decide. Enjoy**

**

* * *

Too Different - Chapter 2  
**

_---FlashBack_---

_"Why aren't you going to the dance? I thought you wanted to go with Troy"_

_"I said I wished I could go with Troy. That doesn't mean that it is actually going to happen"_

_"Does he know that?" Gabriella shook her head._

_"We live in totally different groups at school mom. It's pretty much forbidden for a nerd to even smile at anyone who is on the basketball team or part of the popular group"_

_"So what's different about all those nights you two have stayed up talking?"_

_"It's different outside of school. At first I clung onto the fact that he was the first guy to pay any attention my way and talk to me and now, knowing that I have someone like Troy to turn to without all the baggage from school, it's something I treasure the most"_

_"It must be pretty special. I've never seen you so willing to sing in front of anyone, and especially one of your songs as well"_

_"Troy is special mom" Gabriella said as she sat down on her bed. Maria Montez made her way over to Gabriella, stopping for a second when she saw Troy standing by his window with a curious face. He signalled to Maria to not tell Gabriella that he was still there._

_"I can't stop thinking about him mom" Gabriella said as she lay down and covered her face with her hands. Maria smiled and looked over at Troy once again. He had a surprised look on his face. Maria just smiled and nodded to him. Troy smiled back before he rushed out of his room to get to the dance._

_"Maybe he's supposed to be stuck on your mind then" Gabriella uncovered her face to look at her mom. Maria just smiled._

_"What do I do then?"_

_"I would suggest that for a start, you go to this dance and you let people see the real you, not what you have to be at school" Gabriella smiled before looking at the dress that was hanging on her door._

_"Will you help me get ready?" Gabriella asked, turning back to her mom. Maria just smiled and nodded and the two set to work._

_---End Flashback---_

_**The Dance**_

Troy sat at his table with his teammates and most of the cheerleaders. More than five times Sharpay begged him to take her back.

"Dude, what's going on with you tonight?" Chad's voice broke through his thoughts.

"I've got a lot of stuff on my mind" Troy mumbled. He was really hoping that Gabriella was going to come tonight but he knew that she would have been forgotten by her friends who would have been busy with their own dates. Troy had been contemplating asking her but right now, he couldn't put up with the questions that would come from his teammates and his dad.

"Well forget it. It's supposed to be a fun night. Go and dance with someone" Chad said as he stood and pulled Troy up with him.

"Who am I going to dance with?" Troy asked, a little too loudly. Immediately three cheerleaders made their way over to him.

"Would you like to dance Troy?" the closest one asked. Troy looked at her and cringed when he recognised who it was, Lara, the assistant head cheerleader and Sharpay's friend.

"Sure" Troy said, knowing that a lot of eyes were on him. Lara grinned before grabbing his hand and leading him over to the dance floor. Troy sighed as Lara started to dance very close to him but he knew that he had to bear it, for the sake of the team.

"So Troy..." Lara started to say. Troy looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Now that you and Sharpay are over, how about you and I get together" Lara said, moving her hands to wrap them around his neck. Troy inwardly laughed about how forward she was being. He was about to reply but the opening of the doors drew his attention over there. Everyone seemed to stop what they were doing by the very late addition to the dance. Just as Troy was about to turn away, he caught a glimpse of her face. Gabriella Montez was standing in the door with a very nervous look on her face. She was wearing a floor length pink dress spaghetti strap dress with a black top **(Link to picture in profile).** Her hair had been done in loose curls and her light make-up made her look stunning under the lights. Troy's mouth hung open as he took in the sight of her. He shook his head when Taylor and Kelsi dragged her away and Lara turning his face so that he was facing her.

"What on earth are you doing looking at Montez for?" she asked, clear hatred in her voice. Troy stared at her before unwrapping her arms and stepping away.

"Excuse me" he said before making his way over to Gabriella. As he got closer, he noticed that Taylor and Kelsi had noticed him and were now slowly backing away. Gabriella was confused for a moment before she looked up and saw Troy.

"Hi" she said in a shaky voice. Troy just laughed as he took a seat next to her. He didn't care that the entire school was now watching him, all he cared about was Gabriella and the fact that she had actually come to the dance.

"So you came" Gabriella smiled.

"Yea, my mom might have talked some sense into me and put some things into perspective" Troy smirked as he said this.

"Really?" Gabriella noted the look on his face.

"Yea" she said slowly, looking at him with a curious look. Troy said nothing but simply stood and offered his hand to her.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked. Gabriella looked at him like he was crazy.

"You want to dance, with me, in front of the whole school?" she asked as she slowly stood up. Troy shrugged, a smile on his face.

"Why not?"

"If you're sure" Gabriella said as she took hold of his hand. Troy gave her a reassuring smile before he started to lead her over to the dance floor. Gabriella was very aware that all eyes were on her.

Troy stopped and turned around to face her. He saw how tense she was.

"Just relax" he whispered to her as he placed one of her hands on his shoulder. Gabriella looked up at him and smiled as Troy placed one of his hands on her waist. Slowly the two began to dance to the slow song that had begun to play. Gabriella lowered her head as she heard the snickers and laughter of everyone around her.

"Hey Troy, what did she pay you to dance with her?" one of the jocks called out.

"He's probably just trying to make her feel like she's actually worth something for two minutes of her life" someone else called out. The school crowd laughed. Gabriella couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm sorry Troy" she said in a whisper before tearing herself away from his grasp and running away, not bothering to wipe away the tears that were now falling. She didn't bother running through everyone to the front door, she went straight to the backdoor, out to the gardens. Troy went to walk after her but Chad and Zeke stopped him.

"That was a good one man" Zeke said as he clapped him on the back. Troy turned around to look at them.

"What are you talking about?"

"Dancing with the geek in front of everyone then everyone humiliating her. Best thing I have ever seen!" Chad said as he laughed.

"I wasn't planning on humiliating her" Troy said to them. "I asked her to dance because she's actually my friend" Troy said before he set off after Gabriella. The others just looked after him in confusion.

"Is something wrong with Troy?" Jason asked as he walked up to the other two.

"I don't know but he better clean up his act" Chad mumbled as he turned around to walk back over to the basketball team. Zeke and Jason continued to look at Troy's retreating back.

**XX**

Gabriella kept running until she felt one of her heels give way and she fell to the ground. Gabriella sat up and hissed when she felt pain in her arm. She looked at it and a deep gash on her upper arm that had been cut from the stone floor when she fell.

"Great" Gabriella mumbled, wiping her eyes. A drop on her cheek caused Gabriella to look up. She sighed when she saw that storm clouds had gathered overhead and were now starting to slowly open up.

"Can this get any worse?"

"Maybe not worse but it could get better" a familiar voice said. Gabriella gasped when she saw Troy standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"What are you doing here?" Gabriella asked. Troy stepped forward and offered her a hand. Gabriella looked at him before taking it and standing up. She stumbled a bit because of her broken heel but Troy held onto her.

"I came to see how you were?"

"I'm fine" Gabriella said as she moved away from Troy.

"Don't believe what anyone said in there. You know I wouldn't do that" Troy explained. Gabriella sighed and turned around to face Troy.

"I know, I know but it doesn't miss out on the fact that it still hurt, to think that people thought I payed you to dance with me" Troy walked closer to her. Once again he held out his hand to her.

"May I please have this dance?" he said as he bowed down a little bit. Gabriella laughed.

"There's no music Troy" as if on cue, a new song started to play inside. Both Troy and Gabriella smiled as the recognized it.

_The strands in your eyes  
That color them wonderful  
Stop me and steal my breath  
And emeralds from mountains  
Thrust towards the sky  
Never revealing their depth_

Troy looked at Gabriella and urged her to take his offer. Gabriella laughed and shook her head as she stepped forward and took Troy's hand. Troy spun her under his arm before they took up a dancing position. As they started to dance, the clouds opened up and it began to pour. Neither were aware of the group of students who were watching from the window, the girls awing at the scene in front of them.

Troy and Gabriella continued to dance with Gabriella laughing as the both of them were being soaked in the rain. Troy laughed along with her. Once the song stopped, the two slowed down. The pain in Gabriella's arm had been long forgotten. Gabriella looked up at Troy and smiled at him. Troy moved his hand that was holding onto hers and brushed a wet lock of hair out of her face.

"Do you know how beautiful you look tonight?" he asked. Gabriella blushed and shook her head.

"You outshine most of the girls here" Troy said.

"You're a smooth talker aren't you?" Gabriella teased. Troy grinned and nodded. He stopped and seemed to think for a moment.

"What would your romantic fantasy be?" he asked. Gabriella was startled by the question.

"Why?"

"I'm just curious" Gabriella nodded her head as she thought about the answer.

"I've always wished that I could be....." Gabriella trailed off, embarrassed to finish the rest.

"That you could be what?" Troy pushed gently as the two continued to slowly sway in the rain. Gabriella sighed and looked up at him.

"I've always wanted to have my first kiss in the rain" Gabriella admitted.

"Really?" Troy asked. Gabriella nodded as a blush crept up onto her cheeks. "Well I think that can be arranged" Before Gabriella could say anything; Troy had gently placed his lips over hers. Gabriella melted into the kiss. Troy pulled away to see that Gabriella had a distant look on her face.

"That was exactly how I dreamed of it" Gabriella said. Troy laughed.

"What, exactly?"

"Everything was the same" Gabriella admitted. Troy laughed again before he pulled Gabriella into another mind blowing kiss.

**The End**

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**And there we go... that was the ending of that story. I hope you liked it. I've been working on this when i should be annotating this article for english and writing an essay about that is due on monday... one more day to complete that as well as other forms of exam revision. I've found out that my year 12 mid year exams are coming up really soon... the week after my birthday :( I hope it all goes well.... not doing so well in biology...lol**

**Please review for me!  
**

**XX  
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